Adobe partners with MakerBot and Shapeways to add 3D printing support to Photoshop CC

by Sayan Chakravarty

3D printing is evolving into more approachable technology faster than ever before and though 2013 was abuzz with news related to it, the trend isn’t slowing down in 2014 in any ways. Giving it a huge boost, Adobe today launched the latest update to its subscription-based Creative Cloud suite that includes 3D printing capabilities as a means of ‘simplifying the 3D print process’ is addition to a slew of new features. The option of creating 3D models was always there in Photoshop but the new controls will add the dimension of executing a 3D project from start to finish.
The old 3D model function on the Photoshop could be used only for tidying up the design and adding details to it but the new functionality will allow the users to refine, preview, prep and output the final three dimensional creations. After fine-tuning the final design, Photoshop CC’s built-in support for MakerBot hardware will make the process simple. Using Sketchfab’s 3D viewer, projects can be posted directly to Behance for online portfolio purposes. “Before today there was a gap between the content produced by 3D modeling tools and what 3D printers need in order to deliver high quality results. Now, by simply clicking ‘Print’ in Photoshop CC, creatives can bring 3D designs to the physical world,” said Winston Hendrickson, Adobe’s VP of products.